Just one big Chinatown

Back to reality, heaven help me. After four days in Hong Kong we are back home in Shanghai. It was a great break and I am surprised by how different it is from here. Rich thinks Hong Kong is like a big Chinatown. It's China but with water you can drink from the tap.

The first difference I noticed is trees and bright green mountains. It was so nice to see both things. If I want to see a tree in Shanghai I have to go to the park. I didn't realize Hong Kong was so tropical and beautiful.

This is Rich and the kids headed up the mountain to see the giant Buddha. Piper kept saying, 'I want to see the big booty.'  Well girl, just look your mommas way.

 

Of course, my kids would rather chase a cow than see the Buddha

Another big difference was the traffic. I didn't see a single moped, motorcycle or bike. The buses and cars, even taxis, stopped for pedestrians and no one was honking, even when they got cut-off. It was nice to cross the street without feeling like your life was in danger.

Hong Kong was a 100x cleaner than Shanghai. Shanghai isn't littered with trash, it is just dirty. There is this film of smog and dust that settles on everything. I think it is the pollution and the lack of trees, oh and the 12 million plus people.

This next one made me a little sad. In Shanghai we have had to teach our kids to push onto the metro and into elevators (Piper calls them alligators, probably because if you are not quick enough you will lose a limb.) There are so many people, it is every man for himself and if they don't push they will never get through. When the doors opened at our first elevator in Hong Kong they did what they always do, put their elbows out, heads down and plow through. Much to my surprise, people were not shoving them aside to get on. They were actually waiting for us to exit before they entered. The whole time we were there, I was constantly reminding them to hold open the door and let people get off the metro before they get on. Now they are totally confused. They have to remember in China manners are secondary to survival and everywhere else you need to wait your turn.

The best difference (according to me); almost everyone spoke, at least a little, English. Rich will disagree but I don't enjoy seeing him suffer. Sometimes I think it's funny but that's different, right? Anyway, it was refreshing to hear him say, 'I can't understand what you're saying.' In Hong Kong they speak Cantonese, a different dialect but not a different language. So he could still read street sings and price tags but he couldn't understand a word that was said. People would look at him and assume he could understand them but no dice.
In Shanghai, people are constantly talking to me in Chinese. When I put up my hands and say, 'I don't understand.' They start yelling because with volume, comes understanding right? It is aggravating and motivating at the same time. But I think something is missing in my brain. It just doesn't connect. I can hear the same word in Chinese a hundred times and it still doesn't stick. Maybe it is all of the paint fumes I've inhaled throughout the years.

Overall, it was a great trip. A few tips for our next adventure: a hotel with shuttle service from the airport and a heated pool or at least a hot tub.

Here is Lily looking shapely in my bathing suit, since hers was left, nicely packed in her suitcase at home. They only lasted 10 minutes in the pool. The water was freezing.

There were lots of great markets in Hong Kong. This is Mia at the bird market.

Mia at the fish market with some sick looking frogs.

Lily with more birds at the bird market.

Matt at the flower market.

The whole clan at a Buddhist Temple. This is just outside of the night market. The night market starts after sunset and goes until midnight. It's a huge market and I'm sure they sell a little of everything and a lot of one thing...toys, of the adult nature. One minute we are safely strolling through clothing and the next thing I know we've entered the lace and leather section. The isles are so narrow I can't turn the Winnebago (stroller) around, so we just barreled through at full trot. Rich is trying to be a blind on one side and me the other. I think, in the end, all the kids saw was a blur of flesh colored plastic and feathers.

  

Sugar-pie Pipey at a Muslim Mosque. We met a guy there that told us all about Islam and the two angles on his shoulders recording his life. He only had two teeth. I hope he gets the others back when he gets to paradise.

 

Hey Jackie.

This was really cool. It is a series of escalators that run through the middle of Hong Kong. You can ride from one end of the island to the other.

Hong Kong at night.  I don't know who that kid is.

Last but not least. We were able to see Scott Gordon while we were there. Poor Brooke is riding solo for a month while Scott gets rock massages and eats meals full of meat. I'm sure he'll get some work in too. Hong Kong has a million tailors so he and Rich went to lunch and got measured for suits. Scott said the guy that measured them was squeezed so tightly into his clothes he looked like a sausage. Scott kept telling him he likes his suits a little loose. I don't know how his turned out but Rich's looks great.

Rich also made it to the temple. The hotel we were staying at said they had babysitting. However, when we asked about it they said it is a lady that comes to the hotel and tends your kids in your room, good times. She come at the bargain price of 1250 Hong Kong dollars an hour. That is almost $200 US. Can you believe we passed on that deal? We tag teamed instead. Rich went on Friday and I was supposed to go on Saturday but they were closed for conference. They tape it and broadcast it a week later, who knew?

That sums it up. Love you all.